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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

*Wordful Wednesdayis for those of us that like to showcase a photo(s) but that just can't seem keep our mouths shut about it(them). If you'd like to play along, post a photo on your blog, and let the words roll. Feel free to "capture" my 7 Clown Circus button (below and on the left) or simply hyperlink to my site, and be sure to add yourself to Mr. Linky. Thanks for playing along!

Grab My Button

Last week we tried out having a prompt IF and only IF you would like to use it.

For Next WEEK, The prompt is:

Fall. Let's see what autumn looks like in your neck of the woods.

This week I tried something a little different. It's Wordful. While not being too wordy. And there's an image. I know. It doesn't exactly meet the Wordful Wednesday criteria. But. It's my first Vlog. And I really, really wanted to show off. I know that making and publishing a vlog is second nature for many of you, but for me, this is a huge accomplishment. Humor me, will you? :)

Monday, September 28, 2009

Look at the super cute new Tribute Tuesday button. Remember, Mr. Linky will be hosted at Mayhem & Moxie starting next week. Not this week. But next week. This week you can find Mr. Linky here. Scratch that. Mr. Linky is MIA. Again. If he appears, great. If not. I guess there's no linking up this week. Sorry.

Today I tribute my very own DOT COM. That's right! I have my very own 7 Clown Circus domain. Now, you can find me at http://www.7clowncircus.com/.

And, you all know how feeling important makes me feel. Um. Important. And special. :)

I'd also like to draw your attention to the OfficeMax/GNO pay-it-forward contest going on now, here. Nominate a teacher that could use some school supplies and if your entry wins, I'll send you a $100 OfficeMax giftcard that you can then give to the teacher for supplies. Such a cool contest, if I do say so myself.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Although I would like to think that I exercise Moxie on a regular basis, the truth is that I'm not at all sure that I do. If there was ever a time in my life that I feel that I exibited Moxie, it would have to be during my twins' pregnancy. It was the most stressful, isolating, scary, emotionally taxing period of time I hope to ever live through. I know that I got through it with help, but I also like to think that it was my spirit and courage that got me through it sane, with the decision firmly made that our family was complete.

Our last familial addition was by 20 perfect little toes. I'm thankful that those 20 toes combined with the 30 perfect little toes we had at home. I have 50 toes of varying kid sizes in my home now, and that makes me very, very happy. And content. You see, 5 children is enough for me.

Not because I don't love kids, especially my own, but because we made the decision that our family was complete while I was pregnant with the twins. I should really say that I pushed the decision, and Jeff supported me in it, which will always mean the world to me.

He wanted more children, and frankly still does, I think. But I don't. And he respects that.

I feel like my hands are full and my heart is happy with our little 5.

But that's not all. While I was going through my last pregnancy it was so emotionally taxing that I felt strongly that I couldn't do it again. Even if someone could have given me a crystal ball and told me that I would have a easy pregnancy with absolutely zero complications, I couldn't do it, and I still feel that way today, almost 4 years later.

From the time I was 17 weeks pregnant until my babies were born 16 weeks later, I was a nervous wreck. (To read about why, visit here.) I felt emotions that are impossible to describe. I felt blessed beyond measure to be carrying TWO babies, yet I felt like my pregnancy was a ticking time bomb. I just didn't know if the bomb was active or a dud. I knew that if I lost the babies life would go on and I would be comforted. At the same time, I could barely bear the thought of not having my babies. At any given second my babies could have been wreaking havoc on each other in utero, and I was powerless to stop them. I felt utterly and totally helpless. And very few people understood. It was a very isolating time.

That pregnancy came after pregnancy #2 where baby was born with a virus I passed on to her and an induced labor where her heartrate was abnormally high for too long. And pregnancy #3 where baby had an irregular unbilical cord (2 vessels instead of 3) that caused many days of stress and fear, a CF scare and hospitalization as an infant.

Back to the the last pregnancy though. I made the decision to have aggressive inpatient monitoring for my babies. It was the best thing for them, but whether it was the best thing for our family I didn't know. I had no idea how my children and husband would deal with having me gone for more than 2 months.

I exercised a lot of faith that my family would be taken care of. I prayed constantly for the peace of mind that would tell me everything would work out well. That if it didn't I would be able to go on. I trusted that if I did everything in my power to ensure my babies made it until their scheduled premature birthday, I would get through anything. Or that if they didn't, that I did all that I could and that I would still have the strength (courage?) to get through all the other things life threw my way.

Except another pregnancy. The thought of ever being pregnant again made me, um.... more than anxious.

And that sort of puts the cap on 5.

My hands are full, but my heart is fuller. And I feel content. I think that making that decision took courage and spirit.

Besides, we are already being eaten out of house and home.

Moxie? I think so.

And speaking of Moxie.........I'm off to see what Moxie Mona is up to today. I have a feeling she's been having a really, really good time!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

*Wordful Wednesdayis for those of us that like to showcase a photo(s) but that just can't seem keep our mouths shut about it(them). If you'd like to play along, post a photo on your blog, and let the words roll. Feel free to "capture" my 7 Clown Circus button (below and on the left) or simply hyperlink to my site, and be sure to add yourself to Mr. Linky. Thanks for playing along!

Grab My Button

Before I show you pictures of one of my favorite vacations (again), let's go see what Moxie Mona is up to. I'll meet you there! In a minute, of course. I wouldn't want you to miss MY vacation. :)Louisiana: Crazy Adventures in Parenting and Keep It ClassyMississippi: Flip n’CrazyGeorgia: The Blog RollersFlorida: Live.Love.EatGeorgia: Cutie Booty Cakes and Lattes and LifeSouth Carolina: MomspectiveNorth Carolina: The World According to Me Tennessee: Suburb SanityJeff and I went to Cancun for our 10 year wedding anniversary last year. We wanted to go some where really nice and relaxing. And all inclusive. It was all of those things, and just to rub salt into the wound of all of you that haven't had any time away in too long, here's about a million pictures of the resort. Don't feel bad, reviving these pictures and the vacation is killing me. I want to go back so badly.

We had such an enjoyable time!

This is the back of the resort facing the Ocean.

The main plaza in the hotel.Hanging beds by the bar. You know, in case you are too sloshed to sit up.

One of the main hall ways.

At the entrance to the hotel.

In a common area.

One of the views from our balcony.

Is this a nice touch or what? Rose petals shaped into a heart.

A double jacuzzi tub in our suite was really nice.

This is just half of the spacious shower in our room.

Our balcony overlooking the pool and Caribean.The other view from our balcony. The main drag of the hotel zone.

The pool was, in a word, amazing.

The part of the pool we liked to swim in.These fish live at our favorite restaurant.

Would we go back? In a HEART BEAT! Please, Jeff, Please. Take me back. {You never know when begging might help!}

Don't forget to enter my fab giveaways this week. You can find the links in my right side bar.

Tomorrow it's time for another edition of Writer's Workshop. You can participate and link up to Writer's Workshop with Mama Kat. The writing prompts are as follows: 1) Moxie is defined as having spirit and courage. Describe a time when you showed moxie. 2) If you were a super hero, what would your super power be? 3) If you ruled the world, what are three things you would change? 4.) Write a poem about a loved one who has shown you moxie, what have you learned from them? 5.) A superhero can save you from what ails you....what is your request?

Monday, September 21, 2009

Let me just tell you up front that I am {figuratively} taking my life in my hands by writing this post about one of my favorite aspects of summer. My husband. I know that he'd prefer that I didn't. I know that I shouldn't. But I can't NOT. You see, this summer my husband was able to take tons of time off from work, so it seemed like I had him to myself for the duration of the vacation. Which is rare. And special.

It's no secret that I think he's pretty spectacular, and sometimes, even though he hates attention, I tell people. In this case, a lot of people. I just won't tell him how many people. (smile).

Jeff just happens to be my husband of over a decade. {Yes, I WAS bragging there.} He's smart. Really, really smart. I pride myself on being at least moderately intelligent, but (and it does pain me to say this) his intelligence far exceeds mine. The guy has a mind like a steel trap. He doesn't forget anything (unless it's the items I asked him to pick up at the store), and he retains information like no one I've ever met before.

He can do just about anything he sets his mind to. Not only can he tell me about physiological functions, or the molecular make up of a substance, he can lay tile, produce amazing wood work, AND he has a great eye for design. I thought most people were either right or left brained, but this guy seems to excel at both right and left brained activities. It's kind of not fair.

He's a super-duper husband, and a fantabulous father. He's a wonderful provider, and he makes us all feel safe.

Plus, he's pretty darn handsome.

Getting him almost all to myself for the summer? Definitely special. And memorable.

Don't forget to head over toMayhem & Moxie to read about what other people think of their summer vacation. AND, just a reminder, Tuesday's Tribute will be hosted at Mayhem & Moxie from here on out.

Now, how about a few visits with our trusty and well traveled Mona?

Today, on Tuesday, September 22, you'll find Moxie Mona at the following locations:

We've got writing/photography carnivals going on Tuesday through Friday of this week that I'm participating in, and I hope you do as well.

Tomorrow, Mayhem & Moxie will be hosting their first Tuesday's Tribute.

The writing prompts are: Since summer has officially ended, let's take a moment to look back and pay tribute to one of the season's most beloved past-times, the summer vacation. Write a tribute to that special aspect from your summer vacation.

Options include: 1) the most outrageous person you met while traveling, 2) the best (or worst) hotel you ever stayed in, 3) someone on your trip who saved the day, 4) the weight you gained while on vacation, 5) the book that made your vacation endurable.

Now, back to Mona. She's been busy. Very busy. Join me for a few drop-ins. I'm dying to see what she's been doing here in the West.

Starting Monday of next week something I deem totally exciting is happening in blogland and I am THRILLED to be a part of it. A few fellow mommy bloggers (see above) and I havebeen working REALLY hard to put together a site called Moxie Media.

We're hoping to gather bloggers with "moxie" to worktogether quarterly and promote companies we believe in, while keepingcontent on our sites fun and important to us.

To help draw attention to what being moxie is all about we enlistedthe help of the only person we knew who could find moxified womenacross the United States and unite them through a week long eventfilled with fun/interactive posts, giveaways, and blog hopping.

Meet Mona.

Moxie Mona is traveling the states via the blogosphere in an attemptto unite women with moxie while teaching us a bit about what'shappening in their neck of the woods.

Starting Monday and continuing through to Friday, Mona will visiteight to ten different states and introduce us to women with moxiewhile making her way through all fifty (OK, not all. But MOST FIFTY states), in what can only be describedas the fastest traveling any doll has ever made in the history oftraveling dolls.

I will link to the people she is visiting and you will have a chanceto follow Mona on her journey and discover things going on outside ofyour happy little home.

When Around The Blogosphere is over you can tell your friends how welltraveled you are and how you have visited most of the fifty states in lessthan a week...just don't tell them you visited the them by following aplush doll on her blog hopping journey. Go ahead and leave that partout. Or not.

In addition to coming here every day and following the list ofbloggers Mona is visiting in each state, you can also interact byparticipating in daily carnivals (memes) hosted by myself and my cofounding Moxie partners. Linking your blog on these sites when youparticipate will be a great opportunity to get your blog a littleextra traffic and it's also a fun way to interact in the bloggingcommunity. You might discover a weekly meme you didn't even knowexisted!

Here's how you can participate (and how I'll be participatingthroughout the week with you):

Monday, September 21st: Mona will be showing you whatshe did in the first ten states she visited, postcard style. You will meet at leastone blogger in each of those ten states. This is a great day for allof us to start thinking about and preparing posts for the remainingweeks carnivals.

Tuesday, September 22nd: You can participate and linkup to Tuesday Tribute hosted by Mayhem &Moxie. Here are the prompts: Since summer has officially ended, let's take a moment to look back and pay tribute to one of the season's most beloved past-times, the summer vacation. Write a tribute to that special aspect from your summer vacation.

Options include: 1) the most outrageous person you met while traveling, 2) the best (or worst) hotel you ever stayed in, 3) someone on your trip who saved the day, 4) the weight you gained while on vacation, 5) the book that made your vacation endurable.

Wednesday, September 23rd: You can participate andlink up to Wordful Wednesday hosted by me at Seven Clown Circus by postingpictures and writing about your favorite travel destination. You can even recycle one, like I'm doing.

Thursday, September 24th: You can participate andlink up to Writer's Workshop with Mama Kat. The writing prompts are asfollows:

1) Moxie is defined as having spirit and courage. Describe a time whenyou showed moxie.

2) If you were a super hero, what would your super power be?

3) If you ruled the world, what are three things you would change?

4.) Write a poem about a loved one who has shown you moxie, what haveyou learned from them?

5.) A superhero can save you from what ails you....what is your request?

Friday, September 25th: After visiting the remainingseven states Mona will be returning, exhausted I'm sure, to theGolden State (that would be California) for a little R and R. On this day you can participateand link up to Give Me Your Best Shot hosted by Better In Bulk. You will be asked toshow your best shot using super hero photos from past holidays,pictures of your kids dressing up, etc.

Whew! Sound like fun?

Or totally overwhelming?

Or just overwhelmigly fun?

To play along all you need to do is click on the links to thedifferent sites Mona is showcasing daily and link up to that dayscoordinating carnival activity.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

I hesitate to tell you this.......but I vlogged. Yes. I vlogged. It's not so pretty. It's almost downright embarassing. But it's public. So, if you are interested in seeing me look uncomfortable, head on over to The Fort where I'm being featured as part of Tim's Vlogemotion carnival.

AND

Cat's out of the bag. I've been spotted (along with Mama Kat, Tiffany & Heather from SITS and the original Parenting for Dummies author) and published at Parenting By Dummies. Unbeknownst to me, I've been working out. :)

Did you see my THREE fabulous giveaways below? There's a $100.00 certificate to Layers Clothing, TWO bracelets from Twisted Silver and a purse valued at up to $380.00 from Native Honey.

Layers also carries dresses, shirts, swim suits and let's not forget shape wear. See the purple dress pictured above? Super cute on. I have it in turquoise and plan on sporting it at SITScation along with some Twisted Silver jewelry. You know, just in case you were wondering.

Now, back to Layers Clothing. They are very generously offering ONE of you a $100.00 e-gift-card to their store. I appreciate that they give are offering the winner their choice of clothing from their line.

In order to qualify for the $100 gift card,

Hop on over to Layers Clothing.

Look around, and tell me what you like the most from their collections.

One of the things that I love most about Native Honeyis that the company is co-founded by women who "set out to create a fashion label that would embody their eclectic natures, their exuberance for life, and their philosophy that you don’t have to be high maintenance to be high fashion."

Native Honey bags are not like every other handbag out there, and I LOVE that.

"Every Native Honey product is uniquely handmade from recycled fabric remnants. Each piece combines the simplicity, practicality and homemade textures of the desert with the vibrant colors, rhythmic mayhem and urban luxury of the coast".

Native Honey is generously offering ONE winner thier choice of a custom handbag. That's up to a $380.00 value! Wowsers.Native Honey bags range in value from $80.00 to $380.00 (for bags with leather, like the Tumbleweed). The owners/designers at Native Honey are willing to work with the winner to design the color combination that the winner is the most excited about.

In order to enter, you must visit Native Honey and then come back and tell me which purse is calling your name.

For FIVE extra entries, blog about the contest, hyperlinking back here,

or for another extra entry, tweet it.

Contest only open to US residents and ends September 25th.

*Native Honey has just temporarily reduced the price of their handbags for the holidays.